With Real Salt Lake’s win on Sunday night, the Claret-and-Cobalt has advanced to MLS Cup twice in its nine-season history. Real Salt Lake will face Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park in MLS Cup 2013 on Dec. 7. The last time RSL advanced to MLS Cup was in 2009 where the Claret-and-Cobalt defeated LA Galaxy 5-4 on penalty kicks at Qwest Field in Seattle.

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Real Salt Lake handed Portland Timbers four losses in six games across all competitions this calendar year. In the 35 games against everyone else, Portland only suffered four losses.

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Robbie Findley scored his sixth-career MLS Cup Playoff goal in Sunday’s match against Portland. The RSL FW has scored two goals in the postseason both against portland– one scored in the 41st minute in the Western Conference Championship first leg 4-2 win and the lone goal in RSL’s second leg 1-0 win over Portland on Sunday. With six playoff goals, Robbie Findley is Real Salt Lake’s all-time leading goal scorer in the postseason.

5-2

Real Salt Lake won the Western Conference Championship series with a total 5-2 aggregate score. In the two-legged series, RSL combine for five goals while Portland was kept to two. The series saw goals from RSL MF Sebastian Velasquez, MF Javier Morales, DF Chris Schuler and FW Robbie Findley.

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RSL had a very diverse attack against Portland this year, with nine different players scoring and seven different players assisting in the Utah side’s six matches against the Timbers in 2013. RSL MF Javier Morales leads the way for RSL with three goals, followed by FW Alvaro Saborio and FW Robbie Findley with two goals each, while FW Devon Sandoval, MF Luis Gil, DF Chris Schuler, DF Nat Borchers and MF Cole Grossman all have one tally against the Cascadia club. Captain Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and Joao Plata lead the way for RSL with three assists against the Timbers each; Grabavoy, Gil, Findley and Saborio all have one assist against Portland.

1,710

With Sunday’s full shifts, Real Salt Lake Captain Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando have played all 1,710 minutes in RSL’s 18-game playoff history.

Great video from ESPN on the RSL postgame celebration from Sunday's Western Conference Championship win over Portland. Check it out above for the full trophy presentation, along with interviews with Head Coach Jason Kreis, Captain Kyle Beckerman and forward Robbie Findley.

Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers square off again, and while the last match left this one teetering in RSL's favor, another 90 minutes are needed to protect the two-goal cushion leading to the MLS Cup final.

1. Don't allow Portland to build from wide positions

The Timbers thrive in wide positions cutting inside, and often, you'll find their most dangerous play emanating from channels between the flank and the center. If they're allowed time to build and either drive in a cross or play a ball across the face of the box, they'll be dangerous. Preventing the opposition from finding joy in those areas will be key, but it won't solve everything.

To accomplish this, Our midfielders will need to drop into deep positions in those channels, assisting the full backs in wide defense. If the forwards, too, drop back into defense when needed, two things happen: First, we're rendered more solid when defending without resorting to a line of six or seven players; second, we're put in a good position to exploit the inevitable pockets of space that will appear against an attacking Portland side, and to break forward apace.

2. Build through the middle

It's not that Portland possess any particular vulnerabilities through the middle, but this is how we know how to play. Abandoning that now, especially after it's given us so much joy throughout the season, would be folly. That approach also puts us in the strongest position to win set pieces, which are apparently our new favorite way to score (thank you, Chris Schuler.)

3. Utilize narrow strikers

In recent weeks, Jason Kreis has shifted his deployment of forwards somewhat: Where previously, one of the two was sent into a wide position (Robbie Findley or Joao Plata, typically) while the other was left in a more central position, Kreis is now setting out two strikers in more central positions. We saw this with Devon Sandoval and Robbie Findley against Portland in the first leg, and though it wasn't the first time we saw it, it surely brought us the most success. It seemed prior to the switch that we were attempting to shoehorn in some width to our innately narrow formation -- perhaps it is no surprise that when we returned to a more natural approach, we were successful. This also allows the strikers to combine a bit more, and when one of those isn't Alvaro Saborio, who can typically hold the ball until others join in attack, that could just be vital.

4. Don't give up silly free kicks in good positions

This goes without saying, really. Will Johnson scored from a free kick in a great position against us, and it's something we really should be aware of again. It will take a bit of confidence, but it's something of which we must be aware.

The Claret-and-Cobalt has taken a two-goal lead into the second leg of a tournament semifinals series once already, in the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals against Costa Rican club Saprissa. RSL topped Saprissa 2-0 in the first leg of the CCL Semis at Rio Tinto Stadium in March 2011, then went down to Alvaro Saborio’s former club for the second leg, losing 1-2 to win 3-2 on aggregate and move on to the CCL Final against Monterrey.

That CCL second leg was played on artificial turf in the incredibly daunting atmosphere at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, affectionately known as The Monster’s Cave. Conditions will be similar for this Sunday’s Western Conference Championship finale at Portland, with RSL again taking a two-goal lead into a second leg, again heading into a very tough atmosphere – the Timbers are 14-1-5 at JELD-WEN Field this year – and again playing on turf.

Let’s hope the Claret-and-Cobalt can advance from this one, too. Kick is at 7:00 p.m. MT on ESPN.

Real Salt Lake did well to start the Western Conference Championship series on the right foot, scoring four-straight goals en route to beating the Portland Timbers 4-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday night.

We all know that the Claret-and-Cobalt’s two-goal advantage heading into the series’ second leg at JELD-WEN Field next Sunday, Nov. 24 is a big leg-up, even against a team as tough as the Timbers. Just how big of an advantage is that two-goal lead? Let’s take a historical look:

Since MLS shifted away from the best-of-three series and began using the two-legged aggregate goal format in 2003, a team has taken a two-goal aggregate lead into a series’ second leg nine times. The team with the two-goal advantage has advanced to the next round seven of those nine times, losing the two-goal lead and falling out of the playoffs on two occasions.

Teams that take a two-goal lead in the first leg at home and then play the second leg on the road have advanced to the next round three times and lost the series twice.

Interestingly, San Jose was involved in both of the series’ in which the team with a two-goal lead after the first leg was eliminated from the playoffs. The Quakes made the first such comeback in 2003, losing the first leg 2-0 at LA before moving onto the next round with an improbable 5-2 win over the Galaxy after extra time. San Jose wasn’t so lucky the next year, taking a 2-0 first leg lead over Kansas City before dropping the series following a 3-2 loss at the Wizards in the decisive second leg.

History is clearly on RSL’s side. Of course, that doesn’t mean much with the second leg in Portland, where the Timbers have gone a sterling 14-1-5 in MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoff and U.S. Open Cup action this year. We’ll see how it plays out at JELD-WEN Field in 10 days’ time.

MLSsoccer.com’s Ben Jata published on Tuesday an in-depth study of the league’s 50 most accurate passers in 2013, and – surprise, surprise – Real Salt Lake was very well represented, with five players making the top-30.

Defender Nat Borchers (No. 2), midfielder Ned Grabavoy (No. 3), midfielder Yordany Alvarez (No. 12), midfielder Javier Morales (No. 29) and midfielder Kyle Beckerman (No. 30) all made the list from RSL. Beckerman and Morales both got additional plaudits in the article, with Beckerman getting recognized for leading MLS in passes attempted and successful passes and Morales earning praise for leading the league in passes attempted in the opponents’ half and successful passes in the opponents’ half.

While Dunny and Alexi struggled a bit to hit the bar, their interview was right on the mark, touching on a wide range of topics from the early days of MLS to where American soccer stands today. Check out the must-watch interview above.